“I know what he is going through and no one should rush to judgment. In too many cases, the allegations have led to absolutely nothing,” he said. “Knowing Mark, he will give the police all the help he can.”

“I am surprised about how the information got into the public domain. I am little bemused as to why it appeared on the order paper like that. I don’t think this information should be released before charge.”

Under parliamentary procedure, any arrest of an MP is listed in the “arrest of a member” section of the House of Commons Votes and Proceedings paper.

Mr Evans said that the period leading to his trial was "horrific".

“Paul Gambaccini, Jimmy Tarbuck, Jim Davidson, Ben Sullivan – the Oxford student – in all those cases there was no further action,” said Mr Evans, who is the Conservative MP for the Lancashire seat of Ribble Valley. "It is quite horrific to go through. You go through mental trauma. It’s not pleasant for anyone who goes through it, but it is even more accentuated when you in the public eye. It’s more fierce when it is public. Next to being accused of murder, it’s the worst thing. It’s the same ballpark.”

When Mr Evans was arrested last year, Mr Pritchard said that the then Deputy Speaker was a “popular MP” and that the allegations were "shocking".

After Mr Evans was acquitted, Mr Pritchard said that the Lancashire police and the Crown Prosecution Service had “serious questions to answer.”

“Most thought very weak case - yet it was still pursued at huge public cost - were some public officials trophy hunting?” he added.

"What was Lancashire police's motive in pursuing the Nigel Evans case – given there was manifestly insufficient evidence to prosecute?"

A Conservative party spokesman said the arrest of Mr Pritchard was a police matter and declined to comment.

Mr Pritchard was elected to Parliament in 2005, after working as a marketing communications director. He has established a reputation as a rebellious and independent-minded MP.

Mr Pritchard divorced his wife, Sondra Spaeth, last year. Despite their divorce, he continues to employ her as his Office Manager. She was working in his office yesterday, but declined to comment on the allegations.

Mr Pritchard and the Speaker have clashed in the past. When Mr Bercow insisted that Mr Pritchard should stand aside in a corridor, in line with tradition, Mr Pritchard responded: "You are not ****ing royalty, Mr Speaker!"

Earlier this year, Mr Pritchard, 48, met the singer Myleene Klass on a flight and gave her his business card.

"I think she was chatting me up. I think we could make great music together,” he said later.

Earlier this year, Mr Pritchard was also contacted by a fictitious Conservative activist, as part of an undercover investigation that led to the resignation of the minister for civil society, Brooks Newmark.

The fictional “Sophie Wittams” messaged Mr Pritchard on the social network Twitter. Mr Pritchard complained to the press regulator, saying that it was entrapment. The complaint was withdrawn after he reached an agreement with the newspaper which published the investigation.